ARCTIC PAPER PLATE POLAR BEAR PRINTABLE – MAKE IT EASILY WITH MY STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS!
This Paper Plate Polar Bear Printable is a DIY Winter Craft Printable for Kids playtime idea that’s perfect for the chilly winter season. It will help your child develop fine motor skills, learn a little more about fractions, and further develop spatial awareness as they make and assemble all the pieces!
This Playful Penguin Printable uses just 2 paper plates and makes a fun, inexpensive activity for both kids and their caregivers.
Best of all, we’re giving the Paper Plate Polar Bear printable directions away for free!
See exactly how to do it in my step-by-step photo tutorial.
The directions are available in this post so, all you need to do is gather your supplies and start. Be sure to give your child a good, sharp, scissors that is age appropriate so he or she can experience success!
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy.
MATERIALS NEEDED TO MAKE THE PAPER PLATE POLAR BEAR:
VIEW MY DICK BLICK SHOPPING LIST WITH THE EXACT ITEMS I USED TO MAKE THIS PROJECT.
- A good, sharp, scissorsthat is the right size for your child’s hand.
- These printable Paper Plate Polar Bear Directions. Download Design #004 (This and many more fun activities are available in my freebie library—get the password by filling out the form at the bottom of this page.
- 2 White Paper Plates suitable for craft use
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Crayons or Markers: Pink, Black, Grey
- Hole punch
- Construction Paper Scraps : Black, White
- Cotton Balls (I used about 10)
- White glue, glue stick, or glue gun
HOW TO:
STEP 1: GET MY FREE PAPER PLATE POLAR BEAR PRINTABLE
Get the free Paper Plate Polar Bear Printable Download Design 004 from my free resource library (get the password to the library in the form at the bottom of this post).
STEP 2: MAKE THE HEAD
First of all, take both of the paper plates. Fold each down the middle. Open it up and fold it again, right down the middle. Take your pencil and lightly make lines along the fold lines so you can see them well when doing the next steps. Use a ruler to help if you need to. When you’ve finished, set one of the plates aside for later.
STEP 3: SHAPE THE HEAD
Next, set a ruler at the line that ends at the bottom of the plate. Set the other end of the ruler at the edge of the plate on the horizontal line to the right. Draw that line with your pencil. Again, set the ruler where the line ends at the bottom of the plate. This time, set the other end of the ruler at the end of the horizontal line to the left. Draw that line with your pencil.
Cut along the lines you’ve just drawn. NOTE: SAVE THOSE PIECES-YOU WILL NEED THEM TO MAKE THE LOWER JAW
STEP 4: SHAPE THE CHIN
Next, draw a horizontal line about an inch up from the point you now have at the bottom of the plate. Cut along that line to make the chin.
Look at the plate. With your scissors, carefully round off each of the 4 points that remain from where you cut the lines. It will make the bear’s face look smoother and more natural.
STEP 5: DRAW THE EYES
Now is the time to use your black crayon to draw 2 circles or ovals for eyes. Place them just above the center line. Space yours farther away from each other than the way I drew it in this photo. These ended up to be too close together and I had to fix it later on.
STEP 6: PREPARE TO MAKE THE OTHER PIECES
Take the second paper plate that you folded in Step 2. Then, cut along the lines you drew so that the plate falls into 4 equal pieces which are called quarters because there are 4 of them, all the same size.
STEP 7: MAKE THE EARS
Take 2 of the pieces you just cut, hold them by the bottom and cut the points off the outer corners to create rounded edges. Polar Bear ears are rather small so don’t be afraid if you find you have to trim more away than you thought. Hold them against the face you made and see if they are the size you want them to be.
When you like the size, draw an oval in the middle of each ear with your pink crayon. Color that oval in with the pink crayon and then, go over it with the grey crayon to tone the color down so it’s not so bright.
When you are happy with the way they look, glue them to the back of the bear’s head.
STEP 8: MAKE THE SNOUT
Take the 3rd, wedge shaped piece that you cut in Step 2. Draw lines as shown on BOTH sides of the paper, following the decorative edge of the plate if there is one. Then, color BOTH sides in with your black crayon.
Roll the wedge into a cone and glue it along the long edge. Use a paper clip to hold it together until it’s dry. If this is tricky for you, find an adult to help. When it’s dry, color in the triangle of white that remains inside the nose. Don’t worry about the outside. You’ll glue that to the face in the next step and it won’t show.
STEP 9: GLUE SNOUT TO FACE
Glue the snout to the face. Place it up a little higher on the face than shown in this photo so there’s more room for the mouth and teeth. When I finished my project, I realized I had glued mine on too low. I had to pull it off and move it. Put it where you think it looks best on your bear’s face.
STEP 10: MAKE LOWER JAW
Glue the 2 pieces you saved in Step 3 together to make the lower jaw. Draw a half oval shape and color it in with the pink crayon. Glue the jaw behind the chin. Trim any points off the edges so it’s nice and round
STEP 11: ADD TEETH AND FUR
Cut triangles from white construction paper and glue to mouth for the teeth. (I used 8)
After that, grab the cotton balls and pull each ball apart into about 5 pieces. After you put the cotton balls to the side, put white glue on a small area of the bear. You can then easily add the small pieces of cotton to make it look like your Polar Bear has fur. Continue until all the white areas of the bear have been filled.
Don’t worry if you don’t like where your bear’s eyes or nose ended up now that you’ve put it together and have taken a look at it. Here’s a way to fix them!
Since I didn’t like where I originally drew the eyes, I filled the black circles in with the cotton. Then, I cut new eyes out of construction paper and glued them onto the cotton. To me, it looks much better this way although wish I had moved the nose up a bit too. If you need to move the nose, do it before you add the cotton! Carefully and slowly, peel it off the face and glue it on again.
I fixed my bear’s nose in Photoshop for the picture at the top of the page though! Let me know if you think it looks better too!
GET THE PAPER PLATE POLAR BEAR PRINTABLE HERE!
If you want to grab this Paper Plate Polar Bear printable for free, here’s how! Use the form below to become a subscriber to Flowerdance Studio. Then, check your email and confirm that you meant to subscribe! Upon confirmation, you’ll receive a subscriber only password that will give you instant access to my Freebie Library. There, you’ll find this printable in easy to print PDF form. Just look for Design #004 and click the oval button and the PDF will pop right up and you can easily print it. Be sure to save it to your computer for later!
Once in the Freebie Library, you’ll also find many other printables that all lead to creative fun! Best of all, all of these printables are totally FREE for my subscribers!
When you do, you’ll also start to receive my weekly newsletter- my newest projects and printables will be delivered right to your inbox!
Get the Paper Plate Polar Bear Printable + Access to my entire Freebie Library!
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I’d love to see what fun you have with the Polar Bear. Please share a photo of your fierce Polar Bear in our Facebook group. We’d love to see it!
